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I read today in the news about the possible benefits of very low fat diets for those who have prostate cancer. Heart-related health expert Dr. Dean Ornish, who is somewhat famous for proposing strict vegetarianism combined with lowfat diets and exercise, led an intial study regarding prostate cancer. The study, which was published in The Journal of Urology showed that the participants who followed Ornish’s low fat diet and regimen had a 4 percent decrease in prostate specific antigen (PSA) which is an indicator of the growth of this type of cancer.

Those in the study who weren’t treated by the Ornish method saw an increase of 6 percent in PSA. While the research and results are extremely preliminary, the researchers note that it is promising and because of the multitude of other benefits of a low fat diet (reduction in weight and heart problems) it is definitely something to consider for men who have prostate cancer.

Source: The Associated Press / CNN

An interesting news blurb on how one of the compounds that occur in tumeric, which is a main ingredients in curries, has been shown in laboratory tests to actually interfere with skin cancer (melanoma) cells. The studies were done at the University of Texas’s Department of Experimental Therapeutics M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The compound in the tumeric is Curcumin and was found to suppress certain proteins that tumor cells rely on to keep themselves going.

Source: CNN/Reuters